Samuel, Eli, and His Sons

Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision (1 Samuel 3:1).

1 Samuel chapter three is an important passage of Scripture. In it God demonstrates how he cares for his people despite our weaknesses, how he delivers his word to them, and how he uses both faithful and wicked servants to achieve his purposes. While many choose to focus on Samuel and his dramatic calling by the Lord, I want to focus more on Eli and Eli’s sons in this session. First, however, we should briefly examine Samuel’s background and lay the foundation for chapter three.

Samuel's mother was Hannah and his father was Elkanah. Hannah, like Abraham’s wife Sarah, is barren and childless. Hannah prays to God for a child. Eli who is sitting at the foot of the doorpost in the sanctuary at Shiloh, sees her apparently mumbling and thinks Hannah is drunk, but is soon assured of her motivation and sobriety. Eli was the name of a priest of Shiloh, and one of the last Israelite Judges before the rule of kings in ancient Israel. He blesses her after she promises the child to God. Subsequently Hannah becomes pregnant; her child is Samuel. After he is weaned, she leaves him in Eli's care.

We pick up the story with a young Samuel serving the Lord at the temple where his mother left him, in the care of Eli and his sons. Eli was, at least by this time, worldly and corrupt. His sons were, at the very best, wicked, as evidenced by their contempt for the Lord’s sacrifices[1]. The text here tells us that Samuel was fulfilling priestly duties. However, he was clothed in the linen apron, or ephod, of the Levites[2]. Levites, and possibly other young men who had been consecrated to the Lord, served as servants alongside the priests in the temple. This ephod was less lavish in material and color than the vestments of the priests[3]. This distinction, along with the author’s use of the term “ministering,” would seem to suggest that Samuel took no part in the corruption of Eli’s sons. The term “ministering” is used when describing Samuel’s service in the temple; the term is never used of the priests at Shiloh. This would seem to indicate that Samuel was performing legitimate priestly service in the temple, while the corrupt priests at Shiloh were serving only their own selfish desires (Engelbrecht 2009). The Lord would soon address this situation, as he had promised Eli earlier.

And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him (1 Samuel 3:7).

The text says that Samuel, “...did not yet know the Lord.” How could he be serving the Lord in His temple and not know him? Well, the text also makes a similar statement regarding the wicked sons of Eli[4]. They were priests in the Lord’s temple and they also did not know him. What makes Samuel different from them? They both performed the same service to the Lord, yet Eli’s sons were wicked and the portrayal of Samuel is neutral, if not leaning toward the positive.

I think the difference is that Samuel had not been taught anything regarding God’s Word (and, after reading about the character of the priests of Shiloh, one could see the reason for that) where Eli’s sons had been, and they consciously rejected what they had been taught. When they were rebuked for their behavior, they ignored the rebuke. These men were different from someone who had not been instructed. They knew what God commanded of them, and they rejected God’s command. They, to paraphrase St. Paul, conformed themselves to this world rather than presenting themselves as living sacrifices. They where therefore not transformed by the renewal of their minds. They could not discern what the will of God was[5].

You see, God tells us over and over again in his word that he does not grant us salvation on the basis of how we act, what we do, or our station in life. His gift of salvation is just that – a gift. The salvation of man is based only on the promise of God. God would rescue fallen man, not because of any merit or worthiness in us, but by his own grace. These men served only themselves and continued to do so after their father’s rebuke; they disrespected God, his temple, his sacrifices and, consequently, his promise of salvation. Eli and his sons were rejecting Christ, the same as one who turns up his nose at the preaching of the Gospel today. Eli and his sons were priests in the Lord’s temple, but their outward acts of piety were not enough to blot out their sin. Their “good” work of serving the Lord as priests could not obscure their inner wickedness from before God’s all-seeing eyes.

God resolved before the foundation of the world that those whom he would save, he would save by his grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.[6] Faith is a gift of God[7], kindled in the hearts of men by the working of the Holy Spirit[8], through his means, which is God’s word.[9]

This includes all people of all times – New Testament believers in Christ who heard the Gospel and believed, and also Old Testament saints, such as Abraham – and Samuel – as well. The Old Testament faithful, who believed that God would send a redeemer, had faith in God’s promise just as New Testament believers, but from a different perspective.[10] Old Testament saints trusted God’s promise to send a Messiah, whose name they did not know, after hearing God’s word. They were looking forward to the fulfillment of the promise. New Testament saints had/have faith in God’s promised Messiah, whose name they know to be Jesus of Nazareth. They are looking back toward that same fulfillment.[11]

An important lesson that we learn for Eli and his sons is that God will punish our sinfulness if we do not submit to his call to repentance. God announced this to Eli[12] and, later to Samuel:

Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever” (1 Samuel 3:11-14).

When a woman once told her pastor that she would not give her children religious instruction until they had attained the years of discretion, the pastor replied, “Madam, if you do not teach them, the devil will,” (Burgess 1988). God calls us to restrain those under our authority from evil; His judgment of Eli is our example. And, while the judgment against Eli is also a threat to us when we fail to restrain those under our authority who do evil, we must also hear the assurance God gives us that human weakness will not thwart God’s will to bring the Good News of salvation to His creation (Engelbrecht 2009).

God wants all people to be saved.[13] Many people, however, reject the word and thereby resist they Holy Spirit who attempts to work in them.[14] God will harden those who persist in their resistance of the Holy Spirit’s work through the word.

Just as an ungrateful birthday boy may turn up his nose at a gift he does not appreciate or understand, man is able to reject God's gift of a Savior. The natural state of mankind since the fall is to turn away from God.[15] The Pharisees, who loved their position in life and praise from men more than God, rejected the gift. They hardened their hearts to God's Holy Spirit, as St. Stephen tells them. They, along with all those who do the same, will receive their wages for their labor. [16] The Holy Spirit, however, continues to work in men as long as the word is present with them.

This is how God worked in Pharaoh through Moses.[17] “God did harden Pharaoh’s heart. In other words, Pharaoh always sinned again and again and became more hardened the more he was warned. That was a punishment of his earlier sin and horrible tyranny that in many and various ways he acted inhumanly toward the children of Israel against his heart’s accusations. God caused his Word to be preached and His will to be proclaimed to Pharaoh. Nevertheless, Pharaoh willfully stood up immediately against all rebukes and warnings. Therefore, God withdrew His hand from him, Pharaoh’s heart became hardened and stubborn, and God executed His judgment on him”[18] (McCain, et al. 2005).

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord (1 Samuel 3:19-21).

And so God established Samuel as his prophet. God made known his will to his people by the revelation of his word to Samuel, who was thus the first exponent of the permanent prophetic order (Kretzmann 1921). Samuel, just like all of the prophets to come, would prefigure the ultimate prophet, Jesus Christ. Samuel was raised up to bring God’s word to His people after a season of spiritual drought, just as God had done in the past and would do again in the future. Through Samuel God rescued his people from the bondage of Eli and his wicked sons. Through Christ, God’s people are rescued from the bondage of sin, death, and the devil.

End Notes

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[1] 1 Samuel 2:12, 17

[2] 1 Samuel 2:18

[3] Exodus 28:6-14

[4] Ibid. 1

[5] Romans 12:1-2

[6] Matthew 13:34-35; Ephesians 1: 4-6

[7] Ephesians 2: 8-9

[8] 1 Corinthians 6:11; 12:3

[9] Romans 1:16; 10:17; 2 Thessalonians 2:14

[10] 1 Peter 1: 10-12

[11] Hebrews 11

[12] 1 Samuel 2:27-36

[13] Ezekiel 33:11; Matthew 11:28 Luke 24:47; John 1:29; 3:16; 6:40; 6:51; Romans 10:12; 11:32; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9 1 John 2:2;

[14] Matthew 22: 1-10; 23:37; Luke 14: 16-24; Acts 7:51

[15] Psalm 51:5; Romans 3: 9-18

[16] Romans 6:23

[17] Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 7: 13-14; 7:22; 8:15; 8:19; 8:32; 9:7; 9:12; 9: 34-35; 10:1; 10:20; 10:27; 11:10; 14:4; 14:8; 14:17

[18] FC SD XI 85

Bibliography

Burgess, David F. Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1988.

Engelbrecht, Edward A, ed. The Lutheran Study Bible. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009.

Kretzmann, Paul E. Popular Commentary of the Bible. Vol. I. IV vols. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1921.

McCain, Paul T, Robert C Baker, Gene E Veith, and Edward A Engelbrecht, . Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

Come, Follow Me

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him,”We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:44-45).

This passage was always difficult for me to understand because of the phrase, “…whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote.” For John to say that Moses and the prophets wrote about Jesus indicates that the Jewish rabbis had a developed and systematic theology regarding “The One” -- the Messiah. We are all familiar with the messianic prophecies (see bottom). We read them every Christmas season. The thing that has always perplexed me about the messianic prophecies, however, was how they came to be messianic. Today, Christians and Jews argue about which passages in the Old Testament are messianic, and what sort of Messiah the Old Testament faithful were looking for. It is one thing for Christians to point to passages in the Old Testament which seemed to fall in line with the life of Jesus, so that we could make him into the Jewish Messiah. This is what the Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law accused the early Christians of doing. While it has been nearly impossible for me to find any record of what Old Testament rabbis from the time of the prophets taught about Messiah, the paragraph below is a brief outline of what Jews today teach about the Messiah. The modern Jewish view of Messiah falls much more in line with that of the Pharisees:

“The mashiach will be a great political leader descended from King David (Jeremiah 23:5). The mashiach is often referred to as "mashiach ben David" (mashiach, son of David). He will be well-versed in Jewish law, and observant of its commandments (Isaiah 11:2-5). He will be a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example. He will be a great military leader, who will win battles for Israel. He will be a great judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jeremiah 33:15). But above all, he will be a human being, not a god, demi-god or other supernatural being. It has been said that in every generation, a person is born with the potential to be the mashiach. If the time is right for the messianic age within that person's lifetime, then that person will be the mashiach. But if that person dies before he completes the mission of the mashiach, then that person is not the mashiach (Judaism 101).”

As we continue in our study of the Gospel of John, we will learn more about the character of the Messiah as presented by Scripture. Jesus will explain, as he does in this passage to the Pharisees, that their preconceived, worldly ideas of what the Messiah would be are incorrect: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life... do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" (John 5:39-40, 45-47).

These first disciples, faithful Jews and followers of John the Baptist, recognize Jesus as the one who was to come. In order for them to recognize Jesus, the followers of John the Baptist had to be looking for something specific -- someone specific -- based on an earlier interpretation of Scripture. What things were the faithful rabbis teaching their students to be on the lookout for?

Luke 4:16-21: In this passage, Jesus reads the scroll of the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 61:1-2). The passage Jesus reads has traditionally been recognized by Jews and Christians to be messianic and talks about the Messiah ("The Servant" in Isaiah) being, "anointed...to proclaim good news to the poor." Following the reading of the scroll of Isaiah, Jesus gives a wonderfully brief sermon saying, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus is telling those to whom he is speaking in the synagogue that, not only is he The Servant/The Messiah of whom Isaiah wrote, but he is also assuming the title of Anointed One. The phrase "Anointed One" is also used to refer to God. Isaiah also writes that God (Yahweh) himself will come, mighty to save Israel (7:10-14; 24:21-23; 25; 35). So, in a concise way, Jesus is telling everyone who he is -- Immanuel, God with us.

Deuteronomy 18: 15-18: Israel would have succession of prophets who resembled Moses, in that, they transmitted God's messages to the people of Israel. Moses does, however, have a special relationship with God, one that no other prophet enjoyed (Deut. 34:10). He is telling Israel about The Servant, whom Isaiah will later describe. Moses knew the Lord, "face-to-face". As John has told us in the beginning of chapter 1, Jesus, the Word, was with God in the beginning. The Apostles cite this passage from Deuteronomy and apply it to Jesus (Acts. 3:22-23; 7:37), showing us that it was considered messianic in Jesus time.

“In his writings Moses transmitted the promises to the patriarchs; he gave Israel the law, which with all its symbols and types point so directly to Christ; and in passages like Deuteronomy 18:15-18 renewed the divine promise concerning the great mediator prophet to come. The entire history of Israel contained in the Pentateuch is senseless and purposeless without the Messiah, so that all that Moses wrote in the law actually refers to Christ. The Prophets were the expounders of the law whose special duty was not only to drive home the requirements and the threats of the law in the hearts of the people but also to hold out to them the glorious and comforting hope of the deliverer to come, of whom they at times spoke directly as in Isaiah 53. The Baptist continued this work in the most effective way, and we here have men trained in the Baptist’s school who naturally reveal their training. Philip spoke truly when he said that the picture of the Messiah was found in Moses and in the prophets. It has always been there, though, the nation of the Jews eventually refuse to "find” and to see it, and modernism denies that Moses "wrote" his five books and treats the Prophets and the writings with the same destructive criticism,” (Lenski, 163-164).

Prophecies of the Messiah filled in Jesus Christ - Is there some comprehensive list of Messianic Prophecies from the rabbis of Old Testament times? The following list was taken from the back of a King James Bible. Along with the prophecies, their fulfillments were also listed. For the sake of brevity, I have included only the prophecy. It is obvious that modern Jews do not recognize these prophecies as referring to the Messiah; in a few instances where they do recognize these passages as messianic, we are told either that the passages are being misinterpreted, or Jesus did not fulfill them:

• Seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).
• Seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:3).
• Seed of Isaac (Genesis 17:19).
• Seed of Jacob (Numbers 24:17).
• From the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).
• Heir to the throne of David (Isaiah 9:7).
• Born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
• Time for his birth (Daniel 9:25).
• To be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).
• Slaughter of the innocents (Jeremiah 31:15).
• Flight to Egypt (Hosea 11:1).
• Preceded by a forerunner (Malachi 3:1).
• Declared the son of God (Psalm 2:7).
• Galilean ministry (Isaiah 9:1).
• A prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15).
• To heal the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1).
• Rejected by his own people, the Jews (Isaiah 53:3).
• Priest after order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4).
• Triumphal entry (Zechariah 9:9).
• Betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9).
• Sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12).
• Accused by false witnesses (Psalm 35:11).
• Silent to accusations (Isaiah 53:7).
• Spat upon and smitten (Isaiah 50:6).
• Hated without reason (Psalm 35:19).
• Vicarious sacrifice (Isaiah 53:5).
• Crucified with malefactors (Isaiah 53:12).
• Pierced through hands and feet (Zechariah 12:10).
• Scorned and mocked (Psalm 22:7).
• Given vinegar and gall (Psalm 69:21).
• Prayer for his enemies (Psalm 109:4).
• Soldiers gamble for his coat (Psalm 22:17).
• No broken bones (Psalm 34:20).
• His side pierced (Zechariah 12:10).
• Buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9).
• To be resurrected (Psalm 16:10; 49:15).
• His ascension to God's right hand (Psalm 68:18).

Nathaniel said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see," (John 1:46).

It sure sounds like Nathaniel doesn't have much regard for the town of Nazareth. I would be willing to bet that Nathaniel is a little pessimistic as well. It seems to me as though he saying, "Surely, if you have found the Messiah, for whom we have all been waiting for thousands of years, he wouldn't come from a crap hole like Nazareth." I mean, how bad was Nazareth? It must have been like the Gary, Indiana, of Judea.

Philip, however, is undeterred. His reply was a simple and direct, "Come and see." This was the best answer that Philip could have given Nathaniel. No amount of explaining was going to convey to Nathaniel what Jesus was like. Nathaniel already had preconceived notions of what sort of things came from a place like Nazareth. He had to bring him to Jesus so that he could see for himself that he was the long expected Messiah, in the same way Philip had seen. I imagine Nathaniel, getting up from his resting place under the tree with a grumpy sigh, grudgingly following Philip to meet this person from this place for which he harbors such disdain. But Philip has learned, as Nathaniel will learn, that this is the best way to get to know Jesus -- to come to him. We are coming to him now by studying his word; we do it on Sunday mornings, when we approach the altar and partake of the Lord's Supper.

What also is illustrated for us in this scene played out between Nathaniel and Philip is a picture of our own personal evangelistic work. "Come and see" is an invitation. And, while Philip is the one speaking to Nathaniel, the invitation is given from Jesus himself. Jesus uses us, as he used Philip in this case, to call others to him. How can we begin to get excited about calling others to Jesus, if we don't have a good idea who he is? Philip started to get to know Jesus, and became excited about what he had found. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we too will be excited and invigorated by what we discover as we get to know Jesus through his word. As this happens more and more, we need to tell the Nathaniel's in our lives, persistently, "Come and see!" God's Holy Spirit will take care of the rest.